My mucus plug came out last Thursday, and at my check-up today, my midwife said I was 40% effaced and about 1.5cm dilated. The baby was already pretty low. She asked if I wanted her to strip the membranes, so I said ok. Now it feels like the baby is really, really low! I feel A LOT of pressure down low, too. Does sweeping the membranes make the baby drop lower? And has anybody had this done and gone into labor soon afterwards? I'm only 37w5d, but I've been having lots of contractions and my midwives think I might go into labor soon. They think the baby weighs about 7.5 to 7.75 lbs already. I'm ready for it to come now!

Add me to the nothing camp as well, I was 5cm and 80% effaced at the time after weeks of contractions. It can introduce infection and possibly rupture your waters before baby is ready, so it's important to be judicious about it. It can also cause a lot of unnecessary discomfort and cramping if it's unsuccessful.

I know it's not necessarily very effective for inducing labor, but I figured it wouldn't hurt since my membranes were intact, but the mucus plug was already gone and I was already dilated enough for her to do it easily. I'm just wondering if it could somehow help the baby drop lower, although I don't know by what mechanism this would occur. I literally immediately felt my baby drop even lower in my pelvis when I stood up after she did it. It could certainly be a coincidence, though.